Gazi: an afternoon walk in Athens' entertainment district

The district of Gazi, about a mile west of Athens city center is nowadays one of the main entertainment / nightlife hubs of Athens. This was initially the site of a gasworks factory (hence the name), planned by a certain French businessman named Francis Feralde in 1857, outside of city borders of the time, and constructed in various phases. It remained in operation in various forms from 1860 till 1984. The area around the factory was a neighborhood of laborers employed in the factory as well as connected businesses, living, even till today, in small, one-floor houses, more reminiscent of a village than a city neighborhood. 

In the last 30 years, a number of events have transformed the area: the closing of the factory, its designation as an historic landmark and subsequent transformation into an exhibition / concert space operated by the City of Athens, the (initial) fall of property prices and subsequent opening of various bars, pubs, restaurants, etc. with various loft apartments and architectural offices joining the party in the last 10-15 years. A major boost was given in 2007 with the opening of the "Kerameikos" Metro Station in the center of the district. Connection with other major pedestrian streets further enhances the area's attractiveness.

Here, I present you some photographs from an afternoon walk a couple of years ago. This is the quiet time of the day at Gazi, before the throngs of party-goers and club-revelers start pouring in...

Persefonis St., Gazi, Athens

An old-time coffee shop at Orfeos St., Gazi, Athens

Tapas bar at Dekeleon St., Gazi, Athens

Lots of abandoned buildings and graffiti, Gazi, Athens

Graffiti for all..., Gazi, Athens

Even more abandoned buildings and graffiti, Gazi, Athens

Entrance of a modern apartment building, Gazi, Athens

Old-timers, chit-chatting and painting the house at the same time, Gazi, Athens

Old, one-store houses and DIY greenery, Gazi, Athens

Bright red house, Gazi, Athens

One of many bars, at Konstantinoupoleos St., Gazi, Athens

Even more space for street art and graffiti, Gazi, Athens

Old lady crossing the railroad tracks [currently not in use], parallel to Konstantinoupoleos St., Gazi, Athens

More bars, at Konstantinoupoleos St., Gazi, Athens

Harley-Davidson Greek Club, at Konstantinoupoleos St., Gazi, Athens

Crossing the railroad tracks [currently not in use], parallel to Konstantinoupoleos St., Gazi, Athens

Entrance of the Kerameikos Metro Station, Gazi/Kerameikos, Athens, Greece

View from inside Kerameikos Metro Station, through a glass roof, to the Athens sky, Gazi/Kerameikos, Athens, Greece

Bar at Sofroniou St., Gazi, Athens

One of the buildings of Technopolis-Gazi in the background, the entrance of the Metro Station in the foreground, Kerameikos-Gazi, Athens, Greece

Buildings of Technopolis-Gazi in the background, with the outer area of Kerameikos Metro Station in the foreground, Kerameikos-Gazi, Athens, Greece

A building of Technopolis-Gazi in the background, with the small square / meeting point at the entrance of Kerameikos Metro Station in the foreground, Kerameikos-Gazi, Athens, Greece

The entrance of Kerameikos Metro Station, on Gazi central square

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A Greek food festival in Athens

I went to Technopolis-Gazi today, the former gaz works factory turned culture centre, for a festival of Greek food, bringing together small producers from all over the country. The festival, co-sponsored by the City of Athens and Athinorama magazine, is a chance for people in the food and restaurant industry to network between them and with people form other fields but it is also open to the general public for a price of 5€ /day (running from Friday to Sunday). I imagine that if it turns out to be a success, on commercial criteria, it might as well be repeated next year or later, so look out for the "upcoming events" list here, some time next spring.

Saturday was a beautiful day anyway, so walking and sampling various treats in between, from the stalls of producers and merchants just felt like the right thing to do!

A small restaurant at the couryard of Technopolis - Gazi

Indoor halls were almost packed by midday.

A booth with Greek sausages and other deli meats

Spreads of various kinds (tomato & chili, tomato & garlic, tomato & feta cheese, etc.)

Basturma (pasturma in Greek), sausages and more...

An olive oil from Rethymon, Crete with really fine taste and a spectacular design for its bottle

Mushrooms from Northern Greece

Eel, cut and sliced

A portable bee-hive (these are live bees in there!) and...

...the product of their work. Honey of various varieties.

Back in the courtyard, an Athens bakery chain was providing bread for people eating there

Four of the best restaurants in Greece were serving bite-sized appetizers based on their regular courses.

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Photography exhibits at Technopolis - Gazi

The two-month long 11^th Athens Photo Festival is coming to an end in a couple of weeks but there's still a great number of events to attend. This past Wednesday I went to the opening of the main exhibitions, at the Technopolis - Gazi former industrial area, in the heart of the Gazi / Kerameikos area.

The exhibitions are a real feast for the eyes (and the mind and soul), featuring many photographers with various styles, Greek and foreign, young, well-known and up-and-coming. The Swedish Embassy in Athens and the Swedish Institute at Athens, as well as the Israeli Embassy, British Council and Goethe Institut are co-sponsoring certain photographers' exhibits from their respective countries.

The ones that mostly caught my fancy were those of German photographer Andreas Meichsner whose organized vacation photographs I found wonderfully ironic (but was that his intention?), Hyun-Jin Kwak's photos of surreally posing Swedish girls, the twisted and out-worldly photographs of Briton's Roger Ballen, Simon Norfolk's antiquated-looking war photographs, as well as the wonderful depictions of Greek folk and country life of  late Greek master Costas Balafas.

I also liked the photographs of young Greek photographers such as John Tsiadis, Leonidas Toumpanos, William Faithful, Alkistis Tsitouri, Michalis Bitsis with his landscapes and Katerina Drakopoulou with her black-background portraits.

Photo by Katerina Drakopoulou, at the Athens Photo Festival 2011

The exhibitions at Technopolis - Gazi (Kerameikos Metro Station) last till 15 November 2011.
Ticket price: 5€, Reduced: 3€.
Opening hours: Mon-Fri: 17:00-22:00, Sat-Sun: 12:00-22:00

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